Good writing let down by average acting - Page 6

@Diya, I know. If you look at Patrick Stewart, he seems like a great character actor and that's about it, and it is impossible to imagine anyone swooning over him. But watch him do Shakespeare, any Shakespeare, and you will discover that he says it so well, laying emphasis on all the right words, bringing the music to the fore, that is impossible to not admire the man for what he brings to Shakespeare.

So here's the thing about Shakespeare. He was the Manmohan Desai and Karan Johar of his time. He wrote his plays for entertainment, and they are meant to be seen. After all, he was the original person to use the 'lost and found' formula in his plays. But we bring him to the classroom, we peg him as a classic author, and because he wrote in verse we make it very difficult for contemporary students to enjoy him. But the magic of Shakespeare is in the language and the performance, and a good actor can so often remind you of that.

Here is one of his most popular sonnets, read by Stewart.

[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytwkXCVXj80[/YOUTUBE]

And here is Stewart in his definitive role as Captain Picard in Star Trek, also reciting Shakespeare here:

[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8205kJSig4A[/YOUTUBE]